Stock-indicating device



Deca 11, 192s 1,694,877

LE ROI E.. HUTCHINGS STOCK kINDICATIUIG DEVICE Filed March 8. 1926 A jfl/Jl i s )J1 Il Patented Dec. 11, 1928.

XUNITED STATES 1,694,871 PATENT OFFICE.

LE BOI E. HUTCHINGS, F TONAWAND, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR, BY` MESNE ASSIGN- .IENT, T0 REHINGTON RAND, INC., 0F NEW YORK, N. Y., ACORPORATION YORK.

OFNIW s'rocx-mnrcurmc DEVICE.

appuammea :man 8,1m. smal in. 93,101.

This inventionrelates to improvements in Y a computing system which is mtended more particularly for indicating the condition of a merchants stock, although it may be used for other urposes.

One of lts objects is the provision of an indicating device of this character which is so constructed and' organized that it will simultaneously and accurately indicate at a glance 10 the amount of stock on hand of a given article carried by the merchant as well as the number of such articles sold over a certain period of time.

Another object of the invention is to provide a simple and etlicient stock indicating device for usel in connection with index files or panels b which a daily visible inventory record of t e merchants stock can be kept, thereb aording a material saving in time `90 and la r over present day methods.

A further ob]ect is to provide an indicating device which is compact and inexpensive in construction, which ca-n be easily and readily manipulated, and which can be conveniently u applied to the leaves or su porting members o a visible overlapping in ex.

In the accom anying drawings:

Figure 1 is a ace view, partly in section, of an index card holder showing the invention so applied thereto. Figure 2 is an enlarged vertical section on line 2-2, Fig. 1. Figure 3 is a fragmentary face view of a modified form of the invention. Figure 4 is an enlarged vertical section .on lline 4-4, Fig. 3.

Similar characters of reference indicate vcorresponding parts throughout the several views.

By way of example, the invention is shown in connection with a customary card-holder o or member 10 of a visible. index, the holder being provided at its upper end with a transverse bar or strip 11 for securin it in place in an index frame or panel. not s own while its lower end hasa doubled strip 12 of cellu- 5 loid attached thereto and forms an upwardlyopening Docket 13 for receivin a removable support or index-,card 14 to w ich the indicating device is applied.

Carried by the index card and preferably mounted on the reverse or back side thereof is a pair of indicating members consisting of superposed adding and subtracting dials 15, 16, both rotatable about a common axis formed by the hollow pivot pin or rivet 17 which also serves to fasten the dials to their index card. The lower or adding dial 15, the larger of thetwo, is provided adacent its periphery with a circumferentia row of equidistant and consecutively arranged indicatin characters or numbers 18, say from 0-65 The top or subtracting dial 16 is also provided adjacent its periphery with a correspondin number of circumferentially-arran ed in icating characters 20 and a row of per orations 21. The top dial, in addition to its outer rowof perforations, has an inner line with such outer row and with the companion indicating characters 20. The inner row of perforations 22 on dial 16 register with a similar row of perforations 19 formed in dial 15. The purpose of the re istering perforations 19 and 22 in both ials and the outer row of perforations 21 in the to or small dial 16 is to ell'ect the rotation of goth dials simultaneously or the independent rotation of the small dial relative to the large one,

yrow of perforations 22 which are radially in ,y

through the medium of a stylus or other pointed instrument adapted to engage such perforations. The indicating characters 20 of the top, subtracting dial are arranged reversely to those of the lower, adding dial, that is, the numbers on the top dial increase in clockwise direction from 0'65 while those on the lower dial increase in a counter-clockwise direction from tl-65, as seen in Fig. 1.

In order to render the dials accessible for manipulation from the front side or face of the index-card 14, the latter is provided with segmental slots 23 and 24, the slot 23 being circumferentially in line with the perforations 21 and the slot 24 being in line with the corres onding rows of perforations 22 and 19 of t e dials 16 and 15 respectively. These slots 23 and 24 may be provided along their marginal edges with suitable'scales 25 and t 25B respectively running from 0 to 10 in each case for facilitating the unit advancement of `the dials.

The lower portion of the dials extend into the pocket 13 and the lower dial 15 is suciently larger in diameter than the top dial 16 so as to expose its indicating characters 18 when the same are brought opposite or in register with a notch or sight opening 26 disposed at the lower edge of the card 14, as shown in Fi 1, the comparative readings on the dials belng visible by the user through the transparent front wall of the pocket 13, wren this device is used for indicating the condition a merchants stock, the numbers 20 on the top diai 16 indicate the amount on hand of a certain line of stock, say Batteries, radio B, as indicated at 27 on the lower marginai portion of the index card, while the numbers 18 on the lower dial 15 indicate the number of such batteries sold. Thus, when the dials are rotated in unison in a clockwise direction by inserting a stylus or similar instrument at 4 in the slot 24 and registering dial-openings 19 and 22, the reading of the top dial at the sight-opening 26 indicates a unit deduction per unit of travel of the stylus on the corresponding scale 25, while the reading of the lower dial indicates a corresponding increase, so thatas the number of sales of a certain line of stock are registered in this manner, a simultaneous registration of the amount of such stock still remaining on hand is also indicated. When the stock is replenished from time to time, this is indicated by turning the top dial 16 independently of the lower dial, this being effected by inserting the stylus in the card-slot 23 at 4 or other desired numeral on scale 25 and on the corresponding perforations 21 and then turning such top dial in a counter clockwise direction to the end of slot 23 or zero position to correspond to the increase in the added amount of stock.

For the purpose of keeping a daily, weekly or monthly report in conjunction with this indicating device, a suitable entry slip 28 may be removably attached to the index card,

as shown in Fig. 1. Upon this card may be entered 'the record of stock on hand and the amount of stock sold at the end of a certain period, as well as a record of the amount of stock replenished from time to time.

As a means for. increasing the working range of this indicating device, a third dial 29 may be provided, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4. This dial is disposed over the other two and its indicating characters 30 may be in tens` hundreds or thousands instead of units. so that when the range of the readings on the main dials 15, 16 are exhausted, the third dial is brought into operation and its exposed indicating character is then added to the corresponding readings of the other dials. In

secutively-arranged indicating characters, the characters of one member being arranged to read reversely to those of the other member when said members are moved in unison in the same direction, said members having registering openings for the reception of an actuating member.

2. A stock indicator, comprising a support, and movable adding and subtracting members mounted thereon and bearing consecu tively-arranged indicatin characters, the characters of one member eing arranged to read reversely to those of the other member, said members being disposed in juxtaposition and having reglsterlng openings whereby they may be simultaneously actuated in the same direction.

3. A stock indicator, comprising a sup ort and superposed adding and subtracting dials mounted thereon to turn about a common axis and provided adjacent their peripherics with consecutively arran ed indicating characters, the characters o one dial being arranfged to read reversely to those of the other dia both dials having registering openings whereby they ma be rotated in unison or one independently o the other.

4. A stock indicator, comprising a support, and relatively large and small dials mounted on said support for rotation about a common axis, the small dial surmountin the large one and having adjacent its perip ery an annular row of consecutively arranged numbers indicative of the amount of stock on hand and the large dial having a similar row of numbers arranged to read reversely to those of the small dial and being indicative of the amount of stock sold, the dials having registering perforations therein for recelving a device to effect their rotation simultaneously in the same direction.

5. A stock indicator, oomprisin a support, and relatively large and small dia s, mounted on said support for rotation about a common axis, the small dial surmountin the large one and having adjacent its perip ery an annular row of consecutively arranged numbers indicative of the amount of stock on hand and the large dial having a similar row of numbers arranged to read reversely to those of the small dial and being indicative of the amount of stock sold, both dials having registering perforations therein for receiving a device to eiect their rotation in unison and the small dial having a series of perforations for effecting its independent rotation relative to the large dial.

6. A stock indicator, comprising a support having a sight-opening therein, and movable adding and subtracting members mounted on the back side of said support and bearing consecutively arranged numbers successively visible through said sight-openin when said members are actuated, the num ers of one member being arranged to read reversely to those of the other' member, said members having registering openings whereby they may be simultaneously actuated in the same direction from the front side of said support.

7. A stock indicator, comprising a support having a sight-opening and a segmental slot therein. and superposed adding and subtracting dials rotatably mounted on'the back side of saidsupport and provided adjacent their peripheries with 'numbers successively visible through said sight-opening when the dials are actuated, the numbers of one dial being arranged` to read reversely to those of the other dial, said dials having registering perforations circumferentially in line with said segmental slot for receiving a device to effect their rotation simultaneously in the same direction.

8. A stock indicator, comprising a su port having a sight-opening and a pair o segmental slots therein, and superposed adding and subtracting dials rotatably mounted on the back side of said support and bearing consecutivel arranged numbers ad'acent their peripheries successively visible t rough said sight-opening when the dials are actuated, the numbers of one' dial being arran ed to read reversely to those of the other dia said consecutively arranged' dials havin" registering perforations circumferentiaily in line with one of said segmental slots and the top dial having a series of perforations circumferentially in line with the other segmental slot of said support, whereby said perforations and their corresponding slots are adapted to receive a device for respectively effecting the rotation of the dials in unison or the rotation of the top dial independent. of the lower dial.

9. A stock indicator, comprising a support having a sight-openin and a segmental slot therein, superposed a ding and suhtractin dials rotatably mounted on the back side o said support and provided adjacent their peripheries with consecutively-arranged numbers successively visible through said sightopening when the dials are actuated, the numbers of one dial being arranged to read reversely to those of the other dial, said dials having registering perforations circumferentially in line with said segmental slot for receiving a deviceto effect their rotation simultaneously in the same direction, and a scale arranged along one of the edges of said segmental slot for indicating the unit advancement of said dials.

LE ROI E. HUTCHINGS. 

